Late this afternoon, a bipartisan group – consisting of 7 Republicans and 7 Democrats – from the U.S. House of Representatives sent a joint letter to FRA Administrator Ron Batory and FTA Acting Administrator Jane Williams strongly encouraging both to give full and fair consideration to the recommendations of SMART-TD outlined in the petition for worker protection and sanitation standards to protect our members against the coronavirus.

Receiving this joint letter from such a high level of Members of Congress hopefully will encourage Administrators Batory and Williams to look beyond what the carriers tell them. The letter was sent in part due to the agencies not responding to a March 20th request from SMART TD President Jeremy Ferguson asking the agencies to implement sanitation and preventative measures in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. The FRA did grant safety waivers to the carriers on March 25th, only minutes after the carriers asked.

It is often said that getting Members of Congress to agree to even the simplest things, is like herding cats; but at this time of urgent crisis, key members of the House, from both parties quickly came together to assist in our efforts to protect essential workers throughout our transit and rail networks. This joint letter did not happen by accident — it happened because of a combined effort from our D.C. office as well as Mike Ingrao who is a former TTD alumni who represents several Republicans friendly to labor and our State Directors. Special thanks to Ron Sabol from New Jersey, Ty Dragoo from Kansas, Bob Borgeson from Nebraska, Bob Guy from Illinois, Paul Pokrowka from Pennsylvania and others. Working together is key.

To read the rest of the story from SMART-TD click here.

In Solidarity
Greg Hynes
National Legislative Director
SMART Transportation Division

Letter sent to FRA and FTA.

How CARES Act Affects TD Rail Members

On March 27, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law the CARES Act that provides provisions favorable to SMART Transportation Division members as the nation continues to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The bill provides a $2 trillion relief package to the nation as it copes with COVID-19, the novel coronavirus that has killed hundreds and infected thousands of Americans.

“This bill helps to provide some short-term relief to the transportation industry that has been staggered by the coronavirus,” National Legislative Director Greg Hynes said. “In the event that carriers continue to cut workers or that employees get sick, those workers, including our members, will have extended financial protection. It also gives a financial lifeline to Amtrak as the passenger carrier’s operations have been severely curtailed by the pandemic.”

This relief bill:

The economic uncertainty and long-term health risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic present a challenge nationally, and the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), which administers railroad sickness and unemployment benefits, is advising all railroaders to set up a RRB account. Click here to establish your account.

Due to the IT restraints and volume of contacts to the RRB, members are advised to access the RRB site from a computer, not a phone or tablet. Establishing an account gives workers a head start in the event that RRB unemployment or sick benefits are needed by RR workers in the case of carrier furloughs or illness.

Additional RRB funding and the removal of RRB benefits from the budget sequester implemented by congressional Republicans during the Obama administration may be considered in subsequent relief packages.